1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a serial interface for use on integrated circuits, particularly a serial interface for a microprocessor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Microprocessors have traditionally utilized an on-die thermal diode to provide temperature information to an off-chip monitoring device. In traditional implementations, two pins on the microprocessor are utilized to interface the diode to the monitoring device, which determines the temperature of the microprocessor based on the diode. The temperature information is utilized for thermal control, e.g., fan control or other thermal management activities.